Dearborn Project withdrawn, but CBA model carries on

April 24, 2009

Contact: David West: 206 568-5000 x13; 206-919-2774
Executive Director, Puget Sound Sage
dwest@pugetsoundsage.org

April 24, 2009

Puget Sound Sage and the Steering Committee of the Dearborn Street Coalition for Livable Neighborhoods (DSCLN) were informed yesterday by the developer of the Dearborn Project at the Goodwill site that the development project has been canceled due to the economic downturn.

While this means that the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) we won will not bear fruit, the CBA represents a groundbreaking model for making development accountable to community stakeholders.

For the first time in the Puget Sound region, community stakeholders, including neighborhood councils, Vietnamese small businesses, community organizations and labor unions negotiated and won a legally binding commitment from a developer to provide community benefits.

In addition, the City Council affirmed the role of the CBA by including some of the benefits in the City's own agreement with the developer, allowing the City to enforce the provisions as well as the community.

The unprecedented agreement included:

• 200 units of low-income housing, including 50 family units
• $1.8 million to support small businesses and non-profits in Little Saigon
• Limitations on chain retail and business size 
• $200,000 for traffic mitigations to be prioritized by local neighborhoods 
• Family-wage jobs for construction, grocery/drug, janitorial and security workers 
• A commitment to hiring low-income residents from local training agencies
  

Quang Nguyen from the Washington Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce, formerly known as VAEDA, says that his community and other coalition stakeholders look forward to working with Goodwill on future plans for the site and continued prosperity for Little Saigon.

We believe that the community benefits model we've created together provides a template and a vision for what is possible in Washington.

Deep thanks to the countless community members who contributed to this historic campaign. Together, we achieved more than would have been possible without such broad, committed participation.  The new coalition relationships forged will carry forward.

Sage will continue to help build a movement in Seattle for progressive development policy that will create living wage jobs, affordable housing, a cleaner environment and a better future for us all.